The FDA's 9 Major Food Allergens, Explained for Parents

The FDA requires any packaged food sold in the US to clearly disclose whether it contains any of nine major allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame.

These are usually listed in a 'Contains:' statement right under the ingredient list, or named in brackets after the ingredient itself, such as 'lecithin (soy)'. That is the fast way to check a label without reading every ingredient name closely.

Sesame joined the list most recently. The FASTER Act, signed in 2021, added it as the ninth major allergen, with the requirement taking effect on January 1, 2023. Before that, sesame could hide inside vague terms like 'spices' or 'natural flavors' on a label, which was a real problem for the families who needed to avoid it. If you are reading older packaging or a product that has not been relabeled, that gap is worth knowing about.

This list comes from FALCPA, the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act, and it is specifically a labeling law, not a medical list of every allergen that exists. It sets out what manufacturers legally must disclose. Foods can, and do, cause reactions outside this list of nine; it is just that only these nine trigger a mandatory disclosure requirement. Knowing which category you are checking for makes reading labels much faster once it becomes a habit.

This list is a shopping tool, not an introduction schedule. It will not tell you what order to introduce foods in or how to space them out — that is a conversation for your paediatrician. We found it useful anyway, because most allergen introduction plans, including the peanut and egg schedules we followed, are built around exactly these nine foods. Once you know the list, you know what your paediatrician is likely to ask about first.

The app's allergen schedule is set to the FDA's nine when your region is set to the US, so each one shows up as its own entry: not started, introduced, cleared, or reaction. It is a record, not a diagnosis, but having all nine in one list means nothing gets forgotten between appointments.